Bells' Morning Run

Let's get right into it, shall we? 

I started 2023 by having to purchase size XL clothing. 

We’re in the start of May ‘23 

I’ve returned to size M 

and slowly shall get into size S 

Over and over, in different areas I've realised - Transformation starts with a decision YOU make and stick to! 

The benefits of this decision in my specific area of weight loss has been 3 fold 

• Mindset change 
• Health 
• Lose the extra kilos 

There are some key points I found valuable on this journey: 

Support and community 

I came across a community to run with. 

A colleagues club for running since running was the activity of my choice. 

It's on Strava. Seeing the dashboard of where I stand on it and how dynamically it changes, keeps me motivated. I see my colleagues who are experienced runners and their pace per kilometer is much much lower than mine. I don't compete with them but it does reinforce me to improve my own performance for myself. Seeing myself in the top 5 leaderboard is surely exciting, but I know someone in the group will run 8-10 km the next morning and I'll go back down. 

Tools and training 

I got myself a Garmin to track my progress and see my stats. Why? I liked seeing my stats. On the treadmill, it shows you your stats only as long as i'm holding the bar. Holding the bar reduces speed. After I leave the treadmill, someone else gets on it and might change basic settings of my height, weight etc. 

Initially I considered just a chest band to measure heart rate coz I found it exciting to see my heart rate go to 170 when I was walking on high inclination. With discussions with an expert, I settled on a Garmin Venu SQ. It's sporty and goes with my dresses too. 

I see my results after each activity and compare them to my previous ones. Seeing the trend gives me some insight. I compete with no one else. The effort is within. 

The running shoes

The first month I was running with basic Nike and I felt my knees hurting just in a few weeks. Since they are mesh front and not new, the fronts had little holes near my toes. That wasn't efficient. 

Since I really enjoyed running and wanted to continue in a healthy way, I looked up shoes online and read some about how best to buy shoes and realised that I need something soft to cushion my knees. 

I went to the Running shop and discussed my needs with the sales lady. 

It was such a fun experience. She measured my size. made me run back and forth. Decided I have a neutral run. I took a seat and tried on various pairs. 

Everytime I wore a pair, I jogged with it to see how I felt. I jogged a bit on the treadmill they have at the store. 

The lady did ask me many times why I needed shoes for the treadmill and not for asphalt. 5 days a day I run on the treadmill. Once a week outdoors. The treadmill won ;) 

I picked the ones that are most comfortable, soft and who’s colour & style speaks to my soul. I do like shows that make me smile every time I put them on. :) 

I needed to double my budget for it more than I initially planned. 

For my precious knees, this seemed a good investment. 

Breathing Technique, Stretches and Heart rate

I got in touch with a very experienced athlete on technique. He seems like a person who prefers having me be a runner, independent of my training and got me to tune into Garmin training to improve my performance. Seems like a good solution. 

The breathing? For the first 5 weeks, I was doing it wrong. He heard me and asked if I was alright. I did later request him to teach me a better way since I didn't know any. Ever since that day, my running has gotten way more sustainable. He got me tuned in to calculate my heart rate via a video on the Running Channel on YouTube. 

I also learned really cool stretches on the running channel. I do them religiously almost after every run. Bye Bye knee pain! 

Does all this effort it seem like a lot? It certainly doesn’t feel so. 

It isn’t burdening or frustrating to do any of this. Why you ask?

• Every new insight shows me good results. 
• Endorphins from morning running put me in a good start for my day. Pumped up and ready to go with my teams at work. 
• The constant active breathing in running made my period pain fade away. I got a body reset. More on that in an upcoming post. 

If the outcome is so fruitful, why not put in the work? 

As I write this, I sit here on my couch 

Wearing my size 10 red faux leather party skirt I’m so excited to wear on the next warm night out! 

I didn’t begin with all the right tools. As I continued, I encountered people who led me the right way as I kept on doing my thing. 

Time 

Where’d I find the time? I Started my day earlier. 

5:25 am wake up

6:00 am at the gym on the treadmill. 

Warm ups and cool downs  - those stretches I mentioned earlier. 

I hated doing warm-ups and cool-downs. They seemed like boring chores. 

When my knees began demonstrating pain, warm-ups and after-run stretches made perfect sense. 

A month and a half through the journey, while selecting my watch which I thought was expensive, someone gently told me “think of it as an investment in yourself” 

I must admit. Every bit of it - Time, effort and money has been worth the investment with a 10-fold ROI. 

My goal in the beginning being 

• Weight loss 
• Return to Size M 

It evolved. I got more and beyond. 

Directing the focus to you reader, taking from my story, what is that area that is calling you to make a decision to start committing to? 

What can you do to take yourself to the next level in your career or personal life or your passions ? 

Ponder on that while I go on my daily run :)